A week in the studio of Inspired by Script

As most people who know me and are familiar with Inspired by Script know, the studio is open Tuesdays - Saturdays, so I try and catch up with my Blogging and paperwork on a  Monday. 

During busy times it's hard to blog as each job is completed and so I'll try at least to do a once a week post. Finally, I seem to have caught up with all the orders and this week (hopefully) I'll be spending time creating some new designs :-)

First item on the agenda last week were some table names for Nicky and Adam.... these are their Wedding Invitations so they had to match......

Again the gorgeous Kingfisher Blue foil was used and Nicky & Adam 

named each table after a type of butterfly.... lovely!

Then there were some Kingfisher Blue place cards to do 

for another Bride to match these Invitations here

who had chosen the same colour scheme......

I was at a Wedding Fair the week before and was approached 

by the lovely Constance from Connie's Cakes 

This is her work below and you can see more on her website

BY CLICKING HERE!

Connie makes the fab figures and her lovely mum bakes the cakes! 

Her and her mum had seen my Egg Cups 

and wanted me to do not only Egg Cups,

but a matching Bride and Groom plate and mug too.

I had to admit I hadn't done plates before,

but there's a first time for everything....

The plates were probably easier than the Egg Cup and Mug put together :-)

Then it was on to Enna and Stephens 

'On the Day' stuff.

I'd already made the Wedding Post Box,

And cut the hearts for the Seating plan....

but the Seating Plan is one of the last things to be made 

as my clients have to wait for last minute replies to their invitations.....

I took the inspiration from the hanging hearts,

which I really loved and worked well....

And .... there we have it....

The finished seating plan :-)

Then, some lush violet paint was mixed.....

And the place cards completed. 

Phew! A wide a varied week for me. It's so nice sometimes to do bits and pieces. It sort of keeps my mind flowing and my enthusiasm going. Don't get me wrong, I love creating the Wedding Stationery, but the 'On the Day' stuff is just as important to me. Variety id the spice of life.... or so they say :-)

And so came the weekend and I want to share this magic moment with you. .... Whatever the weather, Steve and I were determined to get out in the fresh air and blow off some cobwebs.  These days we seem to work all day everyday and find very little time for ourselves. So we decided to pack a picnic and get ourselves off to Studley Royal. (near Ripon, North Yorkshire). 

Steve especially had never seen Deer running free. At reception we were told the that even though they had around 300 deer there, the chances of seeing them were pretty remote..... but he managed to spot one and get a pretty good picture.....

And further on and round the corner..... we were blessed with this......

Whoooooah! That must be the whole damn herd then! 

I LOVE those MAGIC moments, do't you? 

Don't forget....

My website is at

  http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk

And you can call us on 01609 776 866 

during opening hours.

All photos and text

(c) Sue Simpson

A full and busy week in the studio of Inspired by Script

I have to admit... Vintage is really

'Not my thing' however I couldn't help springing into action

when a friend needed an extra pair of hands.....

First the seating plan.....

And then the menus.....

To be honest.... when I had made them, I was quite taken with them.

Perhaps the soft greens and pretty pinks, brought out the romantic side of me?

I was asked if I could print peoples names on 

Wishing tree tags and 

still cut them out as hearts.......seems I can :-)

Then of course there was Gill and Peters

Dragonfly Inspired Invitations to make

You can read all about them here

The dragonfly really lends itself to the 

gorgeous Turquoise/kingfisher  Blue foil

Then there was an Order of Service to make

for Nicky and Adam, who get married in just 5 and half weeks.

they were made to match a previous order of Invitations......

Again... the gorgeous Kingfisher Blue foil 

is proving to be very popular! 

The I realised it was my son and daughter-in-laws

4th Wedding Anniversary.

I just HAD the urge to design something in Paper Cuts for them,

using a floating frame so that their stunning wall colours show through,

wherever they decide to hang is.....

And... last but not least....

A design for Lindsi and Kyle.

My very first order n Black Foil....

Adding some stunning and vibrant 

Hot Pink Ribbon, warms up the black.

Sexy or what?

And here's the order:

Wedding Invitations, Evening Invitations

and RSVP cards.... all done and ready to go.....

Tomorrow is the Wedding Fair at The Golden Lion Hotel, in Northallerton. Thankfully close by, so I can have a bit of a slow start.....Blimey! I think I need a holiday :-)

Don't ask me to copy someone else's idea as refusal often offends!

I have an issue.... and if this had happened just once, it probably wouldn't even be worth my time writing about it.... but it has happened repeatedly over the last year!

I love it when Brides come in, all enthusiastic and brimming with ideas about their 'Dream Wedding Day'. However..... when I ask them to come with some ideas, they don't always see 'inspiration' in the same way I do.

Making bespoke, tailor made, using my own designs, sometimes with the Brides ideas, can be time consuming but rewarding... of that there is no doubt! 

With the internet, Brides have access to thousands of cards and wedding invitations in particular, on eBay, Google, Pinterest and many other forms of sharing.  

On more than one occasion I've had a Bride tip out of an envelope either a card made by someone else, or a poorly printed pixelated picture taken from the internet. 

I don't want to start slagging Wedding Stationers or large print companies off here, but quite honestly sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

TAKE THE MASS PRODUCED CARDS for example.

Certain print companies (who shall remain anonymous!) state quite clearly on their website that they sell Wedding invitations from as little as 60p! Then there's a picture of a folded card, all nicely printed inside and you think you have grabbed yourself a bargain! 

So... of you trundle, filling out membership forms, email mailing lists and eventually get to the part where you have to enter all the information you want on the card....... Hey! I hear you say! I only need 30 cards so that's only going to cost me £18! BARGAIN! Then you have to enter all your payment card details, go through some more security checks, respond to the email that says you want to make the order, click pay and then realise that the P&P has been super hiked up ,,,, and those cards for 60p were the POSTCARD variety (as shown in the small print!) 

Not such a bargain now is it?

A few times I've been presented with the pictures of the front of these cards (which are totally revolting might I add) and asked to do something like them! Errrr you want me to copy that design... Oh yes please.... Errrr I think not! 

For one thing  I do not copy anyone else's designs!

 another thing is ... it's illegal!... Copyright infringement! 

and.... even if I 'could' legally copy it, I wouldn't because it awful from a design point of view and I wouldn't want anyone thinking that's the sort of rubbish I turn out.

Ironically... the Brides who have asked me to do this, generally think

 I WILL BE CHEAPER TOO! 

OK, OK, So you can't really copyright a piece of white card with printing on it, cut slightly smaller than a piece of colour card underneath..... but seriously.... do you really think I'd want to???

So please....... on entering the studio.....

Please .......

DON'T ASK ME TO COPY SOMEONE ELSE'S IDEA!

AS REFUSAL OFTEN OFFENDS! 

We have tons of samples and ideas at the shop... there's something for everyone and to suit all kinds of budgets. If you don't find what you are looking for, we will do our best to come up with something especially for you! 

The bottom line is.... If you like a particular idea or card.... 

BUY IT FROM THE PERSON 

OR COMPANY WHO MADE IT!

They are the ones who have taken the time to see what does and doesn't work. 

You owe it to them to reward them for their hard work, making their designs work,

designs that you love so much! 

But PLEASE do not come to me with someone else's design....

I have plenty in my own head that still need to come out :-)

Turquoise Dragonfly Inspired Wedding Invitation

First off the drawing board this week.......

A Dragonfly Inspired Wedding Invitation

14.5 cm x 14.5 cm

in 330gsm Ivory Card

In the most gorgeous turquoise/Kingfisher Blue Foil,

which lends itself perfectly to the shimmering dragonfly wings

All stacked up and ready to go...

Each with a matching envelope

Gill & Peter wanted something a little bit different,

from the usual Butterflies and hearts.

Together we created this!

Their vision, my creativity.

A perfect match.

All photos and design (c) Sue Simpson 2013

http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk

If you are inspired to think a little bit more creatively

and can't find what you are looking for,,,,,

contact us and let's see if we can work something out together.

Wedding Fair North Yorkshire - The Golden Lion Hotel, Northallerton, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire, Wedding Fair, The Golden Lion Hotel,

 Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Sunday 21st April 

11am - 3pm 

Lots of suppliers for all your needs including:

Inspired by Script (That's me!) - 
WEDDING STATIONERY

Mark Johnston Photography

 - WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

The fabulously talented  Connies Cakes

WEDDING & CELEBRATION CAKES

Bride and Belles Northalllerton - 

WEDDING & BRIDESMAID DRESSES

NOW offering Men's Suit Hire too!

Bride & Beautiful Events -

 WEDDING & EVENT DECORATION

And..... so much more!

The Golden Lion Wedding Fair

is made up of a group of LOCALLY, North Yorkshire 

based, small businesses, who are:

• Passionate about what we do
• Committed to offering a personalised service using only the best quality materials, while still giving value for money.
• We're small enough to care, but large enough to cope.
• Your ideas.... our creativity!

Pop in and share your ideas and dreams with us..... 

and we'll do our very best to help!

Above all, you'll find us approachable and non pushy

and remember, we're there to help.

I (and the others) are looking forward to seeing you there.

REMEMBER:

The Golden Lion Hotel,

High Street,

Northallerton

Sunday 21st April 2013

11am 0 3pm 

It shouldn't happen to a Wedding Stationer.... but I'm afraid it does!

I make Wedding Invitations and Stationery.... let me put this a bit more clearly.... I DESIGN, personalise and make Wedding Invitations and Stationery. Nothing special about that you may think? But in my little shop I must have well over 50 different designs and I'm quite happy to design something around you and your ideas.......So why is it that quite a few Brides now, have trawled the Internet for ideas and insist on coming to me with other peoples samples?

Now.... just so we are clear on this and for those who are not familiar with my work.... this is what I do: Handmade, designed by me, bespoke (tailor-made) invitations that are FOILED. Foiled is that shiny stuff you see on the top quality cards in your W H Smiths or Clinton Cards etc. Here's one...

.

If you want to see more

pop over to the website:

http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk

And just so you get the picture.... here's the huge choice of foil colours.... 

So you see there's a lot of choice...... added to that the FREE design service we offer too!

OK.... so, the bride comes in and the conversation usually goes something like this:

BRIDE: I hear you make Wedding Invitations?
ME: I most certainly do..... have you got any ideas in mind.
(By this I usually mean a colour theme, some sort of graphic idea, perhaps Butterflies, Hearts, Flowers or something like that)
BRIDE: Well I have a few
ME: Great! Let me see what you've got!

And now I am going to relate to the latest Bride that came in to see me... this is a true story! HONEST!

The Bride shifts her hand awkwardly into her handbag and pulls our a card (SEE PICTURE)

BRIDE: I like this one! Can you make one of these?

ME: Well by 'one' I expect you mean more than one?

BRIDE: Yes

ME: Well I do, make cut letter pieces to give as gifts (I proudly show her the following)

.... but the card you are showing me is laser cut and those machines cost about £12,000 ... that's a lot of cards I'd have to sell over my lifetime if I wanted to break even... so No... I don't do laser cut cads.... But if you like it so much, why don't you just buy them from the company?

BRIDE: Because they are £5 each!

There's now a pregnant pause, while I wait for the Bride to say something.... silence.

ME: Ok what other ideas have you got?

She tentatively brings out another card.... this time with Top hats and hearts on. Not my cup of tea I must admit.... but there again, it's not my Wedding and I have to learn to butt out sometimes :-)

ME: Ok.... what do you like about it?

BRIDE: I like the navy blue card.

ME: Anything else?

BRIDE: Yes, the glitter

ME: after a long pause (mostly to gather my thought back together. Well for one thing, I don't print on dark card, this is a special printing process... and the glitter is laid down by machine also... so no, I don't do that type of thing either. Look at all these..... I FOIL and make Wedding Invitations, these are MY designs.....

BRIDE: (interrupting before I go any further): I have more....

She proceeds to take out card after card, sample after sample, until we were surrounded by 10 cards in total... all totally different.... NON of them like anything I produce.

ME: (after a sharp intake of breath! So.... what exactly do you like about all these cards? Any one in particular? Is it the colour? The pictures? The design or layout?

BRIDE: I dunno... I just like them.

I quickly... well perhaps I should have been quicker! ... homed in on the fact she was a serial sample collector. As it was over 18 months till her Wedding, I said although I would LOVE to help her, she needed to go away and have a think of what makes her tick and come back when something had really grabbed her imagination. Perhaps she is only having a small wedding and if she collects enough samples, she won't have to buy one??  I really don't know.

Can I just say here... I'm not opposed to ideas and suggestions. I'm happy to offer guidance and inspiration..... but there has to be some input from the Bride!

In one way, I feel she was lost.... in another I feel she was getting carried away with all the Cinderella/Princess/Magical part of it all. She left the studio, without even looking at my Invitations or Stationery.... perhaps she was lonely and wanted just to show me hers? Whatever the reason.... it helps your Wedding Stationer if you have a least an idea of what you want.

I see my job as connecting and interacting with the Bride and Groom, bashing around a few ideas after getting to know them. Some make this easy, some make it hard and some (not many thankfully!) make it impossible. Still.... we hang on in there and the easy to please Brides, with some idea of what they want, far outweighs the difficult times when you want to throw in the towel. :-)

Oh well.... tomorrow is another day.... another dollar :-)

Personalised, Made To Order, Bespoke, Wedding Favour or Gift Tags

We often get asked to make 

Personalised Wedding Favour Tags

but if you are handy on a PC and have a good quality printer,

there's no reason why you can't make these

Personalised Wedding Favour Gift Tags 

 Of course yours won't be personalised in calligraphy,

but some computer fonts can look just as good.

You can attach them to wedding favours

 with double sided sticky tape,

or perhaps punch a hole in the corner

 and add some thin ribbon....

to go with your colour theme. 

If you don't have the time or the inclination 

to make your own favour cards,

I'll happily make them for you.

at a cost of £10 plus P&P for a pack of 45.

They can be foiled in a variety of colours.

Just email or ring my using the link at the top of this page :o)

These cards are roughly, 

7cm wide by 6cm deep.

Or...... why not have 
your favourite quotation 
printed on favour tags?

'Two souls with a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one'

' All because two people met
and fell in love'

(c) Sue Simpson
Inspired by Script
Email inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk
Website http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk

Growing and Changing.... It's a fact of life!

Running any business, especially a small one like mine, is a matter of trial and error. Of course  there are standard business blueprints that work for everyone, but there are many factors that need to be taken into account. 

Before I decided to put my efforts 100% into the Wedding Stationery Business, my little gallery part was geared towards a mish-mash (is that a word?) or what, why and how, you could have pretty lettering arranged on a wide variety of surfaces. 

Potential Brides were confused ,

and really... I'm not surprised.

Firstly out came all the canvases, wall hangings and other lettered on items

And we repainted the walls in a colour that would make the 

Wedding Invitations and Stationery stand out......

The thing is..... once you start changing, it's very much a case of trial and error. You do your very best to present what you have to offer in the best possible way. Customers really need to be able to look at what you do and what you have to offer and totally 'get you', without long winded explanations. It's very much a work in progress and you have to be prepared to let go of the things that don't work.

Over the Easter Holidays Steve (my very supportive other half and part-time kiln fired jewellery maker) had booked 18 days holiday..... and as the saying goes, devil and idle hands and all that :-)

We took a long hard look at the shelves that were the home to the Table numbers, seating plans, favour tags, place cards and other assorted ephemera and decided we needed to display them better.

People rarely went over that side of the room and things just didn't 'feel' right.

 So..... he's built a larger table top area at the other side,

and we've painted it to match the walls.......

There's still some rearranging to be going on with the walls

but it's finally starting to look happier and more settled.

The hardest thing has been, getting rid of all my calligraphy and lettering art prints and originals. I no longer see myself as a calligrapher and lettering artist.... just someone who's qualified in calligraphy who uses this skill to design and produce hand made, personalised wedding stationery.

We're looking forward to hearing what our customers think and if they can make suggestions as to how to make their experience better and more enjoyable.

We LOVE it! Let's see if they do! :-)

Don't hold back your Jiggery Pokery!

So..... there I was at the studio..... waiting for emails to confirm the go ahead on the next lot of Wedding Orders (as sometimes happens), twiddling my thumbs and waiting for my partner Steve to get back from visiting relatives. And seeing these inspirational pieces by Kyleigh's Paper Cuts  last night didn't help either! I just had to use the spare creative time and put it to good use!

Unlike Kyleigh, I design on computer and cut on machine.... which sometimes doesn't work out as I want it to! 

However.... using the right depth to cut helps!

you would think by now I would have checked that first!

Old dogs, new tricks spring to mind!

I have my son and daughter-in-laws Wedding Anniversary coming up soon,

And thought if I was going to have a play, it may as well be for a good reason....

After a bit of jiggery pokery and surprisingly no swearing, it eventually turned out ok I think :-)

I'm planning on putting it into a floating frame and then it can be hung in any room as the background wall colours will show through :-)

Being busy with back to back Wedding Stationery orders I don't get much time to play and experiment these days.... but I managed another couple of things this week.... 

I was frustrated that the Website and blog didn't look the same... they looked 'similar' but not the same. I tried Dynamic views on Blogger, but to be honest, I wasn't impressed and decided after redoing my Website Template to revert back! Anyway... I've managed to recreate the top of my blog to look even more like the website, by saving the header as a picture, then again using a bit of jiggery pokery I managed to come up with this:

Then I got asked if I could make 100 cut out hearts with the Bride 

and Grooms name on them... errrr......It seems I can....

The thing is... I'm a VIRGO! There you go... you heard it from me!

And while I admit I'm not the tidiest of people,

once I have a challenge, I find it hard.... no, let me say that again...

I find it IMPOSSIBLE to let go!...

and I just HAVE to find a way round it, if possible!

Then a Bride sent me an idea she had seen for some thumb prints turned into hearts...

and wondered if I could make something using their fingerprints.... 

I had seen this idea before on Pinterest, 

and the ones I had seen were actually rubber stamps.

I wasn't sure how they would turn out once foiled.

As with any unusual request, I had to say

"I've no idea how it's going to work,

or in fact if I can do it... but I'll have a damn good try!" 

This is just a mini prototype......

And after meeting with the Bride we've actually mashed 3 ideas together, 

but as I'm working with her at the moment, I'll keep her ideas top secret,

there's one thing that is a dead cert.... they will DEFINITELY be unique!

That's the biggest pleasure of getting to 'know' the Bride and them getting to know me.

The ideas can then be thrown into the pot and out come the creative juices.

So..... how do you use your Jiggery Pokery?

Do share and leave a comment :-)